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The Flyertalk Bristol Do
This week it's time for something completely different – the Flyertalk Bristol Do! Can you hear the imaginary fanfare of trumpets blaring in your head? I know I can! :) Details are in the link below, and trust me, it's worth a read. Kudos to BotB and BA or bust for organising/hosting this shindig – they've been absolutely stellar and hilarious throughout the process.
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...-27-jul-5.html The easy way to Bristol from Newcastle is via easyJet. I haven't flown with them in about 15 years, so I'm eager to see how their service has evolved. Bristol itself is like an old buddy of mine. I lived in Thornbury way back when, so I'm planning a Sunday stroll around the city to see how it's changed – assuming the weather (or hangover) doesn't play spoilsport. I won't bore you with a detailed itinerary – you can find all that in the thread above. The best part? I didn't have to plan a thing for this trip. It's shaping up to be one excellent laid-back weekend It was touch and go whether I'd be hitting the road at all this weekend. I've been nursing a nasty cold all week since I got back from Valencia, resembling a human tissue factory. Yesterday things seemed to improve a little, and, thankfully, this morning the worst has passed. While I'm not entirely out of the woods, at least I'm not walking around with a tissue permanently glued to my hand. Small mercies! Right now, it's not even 6 AM, but it’s time to summon that Uber and head to the airport. Adventure awaits! |
No surprises to the start of this trip. Uber arrived in less than ten minutes, and the roads were so clear you could've sworn we were the only ones awake. We made it to the airport faster than you can say "frequent flyer." No fast track security for me today, but who cares? I was still through and at the bar in fifteen minutes flat from leaving the cab and that included a random full bag check of my suitcase.
First stop: Aster and Thyme for my new tradition – a glass of champagne, all thanks to Priority Pass. Nothing like a bit of bubbly to get the adventure started! https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...49ecece21.jpeg |
And so to the lounge. Obviously no lounge access with easyJet and so it is Priority Pass to the rescue once more.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7e170ad00.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...528d52462.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...346021ff7.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5d0748a08.jpeg This is the first time I’ve been in the standard lounge since I ran around it on day one of the reopening to take some pictures. The lounge is very quiet, and expected to remain that way for the next hour and a half. The team in the lounge were surprised when I made an appearance in the standard lounge and when I told them what I was up to they all said they fancied visiting Concorde. There may be an Aspire team visit to Edinburgh in the offing :D There is very little delta between the Aspire and Luxe lounges, the main differentiator is that you have to pay for the Prosecco, the premium sprits have a cost uplift, and, of course, at peak times the luxe lounge will be quieter. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...957fe4b59.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...39eca0262.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3fa6cf221.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5be03b3f3.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7bc6a5ca5.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...62c2a297a.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a28ed52bf.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...68c99e7f7.jpeg |
With a little bit of time to kill it, time to breakfast and enjoy the standard trio
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Wonderful, JapesUK. I would be very happy to join you there but can't this time. I spent 5 years at Wells Cathedral School in Somerset and I have been going back regularly these past few years. Bristol is my airport of entry and I usually spend some time in Bristol because I have a number of things to do there
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Hmmm, my bristol flight is not departing late, the departure time of the flight has changed :D
Over to gate 7, one I’ve never departed from before. It is a very basic holding pen divided into standard and speedy boarding. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3bb1ab6f2.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9d7944e02.jpeg No sign of the plane as yet, flighty predicting an arrival of 08:25 so 08:45 departure feels optimistic https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ee2c69c7a.jpeg |
Yes he’s well enough to entertain us,
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Omg, throw us a bone here JapesUK, don’t leave us in suspense like this…I’m like the mouse hitting the refresh button but not getting any rewards! My dopamine levels are crashing…. Hope the flight goes well, see you soon!
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He’s currently downwind at Bristol.
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Originally Posted by BotB
(Post 36409117)
Omg, throw us a bone here JapesUK, don’t leave us in suspense like this…I’m like the mouse hitting the refresh button but not getting any rewards! My dopamine levels are crashing…. Hope the flight goes well, see you soon!
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NCL-BRI
EZY238 G-EZTV Obviously my first time on board this 14 year old A320. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e334bfd54.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9f251e978.jpeg I’m going to guess that this has had a recent refit as the cabin is nigh on spotless. The seats appear very lightweight and it doesn’t look like any of them recline. They don’t seem to be the most comfortable, but this is only an hour long flight. Plenty of leg room in the exit row, as you might expect. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9a4b947dd.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d0a8e839d.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f083a1bc4.jpeg Once everyone was on board I was asked to move from 12d to 12c as that exit row was empty and was more than happy to do. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...10ee47118.jpeg There was a very hungover lady in 12e who was making some quite alarming noises. Alarming enough that I was checking for a sick bag just in case and it seems easyJet don’t stock them in the chair backs? We were never going to make the advertised new departure time but I have to say that the turnaround was a little faster than I expected and we were pushing back at 09:03 At first meeting the crew seem very pleasant and capable, dealing with a couple of passengers with humour. This is the Buy on Board offering https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...87f1708d2.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2143107fe.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...bdcf5b727.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4034a24c1.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...605fd9c67.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8bcab8346.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e5ef45e2f.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e053e4b7a.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...13899f5f6.jpeg After the standard brief taxi we were off the ground and on our way to Bristol at 09:12. The actual flight time is about 45 minutes with an estimated arrival of ten A.M. Once we were a few thousand feet up door 3 right started a quite loud high pitched whine which I’ve experienced on a couple of Embraer but this is a first on an A320. I assume it is caused by air leaking past the seal. Trolley service started around ten minutes into the flight, and after having had breakfast in the lounge I settled for caramel Latte just to give it a go. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8428d4b66.jpeg If you are expecting a Starbucks caramel latte equivalent you’d be disappointed. The caramel flavour was not very strong despite the coffee being sweet enough that I did not need to add additional sweeteners. That said, it was a perfectly pleasant drink. Another oddity for me was the armrests on the seat which were surprisingly low, to the point where my elbow was 1/2 inch from the surface of the armrest, and I have arms to rival an orangutang. I thought I’d try one of the standard seats on for size. I would say that it is no worse than BA and perhaps a fraction better as the seat hardware is less clunky. Also the fact that the seat is fixed is a bonus for us lanky people. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1e46a3210.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...71d23d577.jpeg Pilots announcement came thirty minutes into the flight that we are currently over Liverpool and would soon start our descent with and expected arrival time into Bristol of exactly 10am. This announcement was NOT followed by the almost Pavlovian response that you get on BA from the crew that we were x minutes from landing and to pack away larger electronics. This lead me to think about other differences between the on board experience of easyJet and BA. Honestly, not much. I only recall two no smoking announcements whereas on BA there are 5 or 6. The plane was not as packed as BA flights tend to be. Most BA flights are rammed full. There was no fuss at the gate of people having to give up hand luggage. On a sample set of 1 flight I’d happily book more. The return is still to come, let’s see how that stacks up. The seatbelt sign came on at 09:50, exactly as expected and we were 10 minutes to landing. This did trigger the ‘stow your laptops’ crew announcement. On the ground at the expected time and a very short taxi. The seatbelt lights have now been off for ten minutes and the crew are arguing with the ramp guy. An interesting end to the flight :D |
Eventually the crew sorted out their disagreement with the ramp team and off we trotted. There were the ramps rather than stairs, which the lazy in me thoroughly appreciates.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2098d3fa2.jpeg It’s then a simple walk into a dark and dingy corridor and then through to landside. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...afef428cf.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...305eb6096.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6a3b8835a.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d7e5b78d1.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e6d635cfa.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...86b869763.jpeg I was surprised how long it took to walk to the pick up point, at least six or seven minutes. Once I’d reached it I ordered an Uber which arrived very promptly and I’m now enjoying the free vibro-massage courtesy of the pretty awful road surfaces! Next Stop: Moxy Hotel in maybe twenty minutes time. |
The Moxy is very much as you would expect it to be, same design, same rooms.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...eb5866c88.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0ba55e656.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d0954c270.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...477a0aa62.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9c627ac23.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a63d68530.jpeg There was one surprise, at check in, I was given a little goodie bag, not experienced that before https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...618e3e3d8.jpeg I’ll do a full walk around of the public space either late tonight or tomorrow morning. Right now it’s time for |
The Holy Trinity
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It was a quick Uber to the Riverstation where everyone was gathering for lunch. I was very late to the party, ten others were already ensconced at this table overlooking the water.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...90e17f2a4.jpeg Given my complete inability to remember names and faces until hours have passed, expect me to be completely baffled as to who everyone is for most of the day :D The riverstation itself is a very nice venue https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c7e65229d.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e2225f41d.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d72b197ca.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...865415de2.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5ad0b01f6.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a0d772b5b.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d53b70183.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6efe5a1be.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...eddf6aa2a.jpeg As this is a large group event it’s going to be difficult to keep updates live and still engage with everyone so I apologise for any lag that may build up or unusual brevity in the descriptions and commentary I will say that the riverstation service is painfully slow, ten minutes waiting for a simple drink order. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...32a31ddca.jpeg |
And to aerospace Bristol. Everyone gathering for a formal tour
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Off to the cafe for a quick coffee and icecream
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Photos from the main museum
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4pm and the group are gathering in the cafe. It has been an interesting afternoon, somewhat heavy on the feet after standing around for the first hour during the formal part of the tour.
There are 15 of our fellow FTers here, I will not shout out everyone here as you can find the attendees in the Do thread listed in the first post of this report. A good mixed group of gregarious enthusiasts. We’ll be departing the museum when it closes at 16:30 and then I’ll be heading back to the moxy for a recharge ( the phone, not me). I’ve almost run through two full charges today, think I may need another little portable battery. After that it’ll be over to the doubletree for a drink or two before heading for a curry. |
As luck would have it, the route back to the Doubletree where most people are heading goes straight past the Moxy so I jumped ship as we waited in the traffic light queue and it was a brief walk across the road to the hotel. As I have a bit of time to spare and the hotel was quiet this seemed the perfect opportunity to have a wander around and take some pictures.
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I'm stopping off home at the moment, see you at dinner shortly! |
I didnt even realise I had captured the speedy steed. For everyone following along, dkeng cycled from the restaurant to the museum and arrived within a minute of the rest of us that were in cars, an impressive performance especially considering the distance!
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And over to the Doubletree where most of the group are already gathered
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I checked in specifically to see if JapesUK was having another weekend adventure. And so he is.
Looks as if you should give on BA and just go with easyJet for future travel! :D |
Fallen well behind as we have all been having a good time. Food here at tikka spice is excellent, but the mezzanine we are on is very hot
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The meal was a very relaxed affair, nobody was in a hurry to break up the party and the restaurant seemed in no rush to see us leave. In the end it was well past 10pm by the time we were all paid up and on our way back to the doubletree.
Time passed really quickly with everyone chatting and before we knew it, it was gone midnight, the bar was closed, and it was time to head back to the Moxy and to bed. A lot of the group were staying at the Doubletree, however VorelNaCestach is staying just a very short distance from my hotel and they booked an Uber to take us both back to our hotels. The bar in the Moxy is open 24x7 and there was still a fair number of people having a good time but I resisted the temptation and headed up to my room. After my early start to the day I was in bed and asleep almost instantly. All in all it was a very enjoyable day, and everyone seemed to have had a good time. I would certainly attend another do if the opportunity presents. And now, at well after 5am, it is time to see if I can snatch a couple more hours sleep before the alarm rouses me at 8:30. |
Good morning from a beautifully sunny Bristol where it already warm outside and expecting to get warmer.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...110a64d49.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0b15a9917.jpeg The plan of the day is to get all packed away and checked out of the hotel, and the meet up with a fellow FTer for breakfast and a few hours wandering around Bristol. I don’t as yet have any details for either of those activities so it will be ‘make it up as we go along’ As per yesterday, as I’m accompanied, live updates maybe delayed and brief, so bear with me :) Time now to get this day started. |
After a little wander around the local area we have stopped off at the Boot Factory at the artists Residence for a bite to eat
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Quite enjoying this as I do all of your reports, JapesUK!
Fascinating museum.... now I'm reading a bit on the Bristol Type 173 Helicopter... quite a lanky thing.. perhaps like a grasshopper you'd want to swat. I've seen a military variant before... looks like this original civil version had some difficulties not crashing. I go off on an adventure (in the US) nearly every weekend. And take tons of photos. Maybe I'll write a few trip reports. It's been probably 15 years since I posted one here. Not to say some of your travels are benign, but I enjoy that... I think even the briefest trip by the most pedestrian flight can be fascinating. My coworkers and my flexologist (who I see every Monday usually after I've been away, for a good stretch) tell me that I take a plane like many would take a bus or an Uber. Looking forward to the rest of this! |
Thanks JAXPax and I would love to read of your adventures, no matter how benign.
I don’t think I have recounted the how and why of why I started writing trip reports. It stemmed from a conversation in some random thread where I said something akin to “although I enjoy all the aspirational trip reports, I would like to see more pedestrian ‘lounge and flight’ type reports” As VorelNaCestach can confirm, it can take me a while to process something, and in this case it took me a day or two to process the fact that I was flying the exact ‘lounge and flight’ type trips that I wanted to see more reports on. This spurred me to , as they say, eat my own dog food, and I found that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The rest is history. One of the funniest parts of the DO was the almost cathartic ability to tell others of your plans and schemes and ridiculous routings and the listeners considered it completely reasonable whereas anyone outside the community would consider it all sheerest lunacy. I heard the comment from a number of attendees that friends and family though them to be mad. |
I have finally made it back to the Moxy six and a half hours after I left this morning. We have had a real random wander across Bristol, and the watch is telling me we walked well over 20,000 steps which seems high but maybe it’s right, and maybe it is awarding a bonus for my nearly exploding my heart - more on that later!
My flight is not until 8pm so the plan for the next hour or so is to sit here rehydrating and catching up with the report. There was hardly any opportunity to keep the report live, and when we did stop I was having too good a time to do an update :) https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...206b69ad6.jpeg |
After breakfast we decided to start the wanders at the Suspension Bridge and work our way back to the city center. We very wisely chose to Uber out to the bridge avoiding the significant uphill climb.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...714251ac4.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...999f21a24.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1d829f399.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d40c01d81.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0d2c4ad39.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a31e2735f.jpeg Vorel was having great fun trying to replicate the iconic Concorde photo using a fridge magnet bought at the museum yesterday. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5e720f081.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...39485f6e2.jpeg We were dropped off on the city side and walked across to the visitors centre. The staff here were incredibly friendly. The centre is pretty small but has some fun interactive displays. I can tell you that the bridge could withstand the weight of 740 Japes and many, many more Vorels :D https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...20e5f0d0e.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ca104fa4e.jpeg |
Crossing the bridge again back to the city side we espied an interesting looking building atop a nearby hill.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c010c6d36.jpeg This is the observatory and I highly recommend a visit. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e72b17e21.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...a0d1d0a99.jpeg At the top of the observatory is a camera Obscura and this was fantastic, albeit that the little room was very warm once we closed the doors. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1e40016b5.jpeg There is also a cave underneath however the warning of the number of dodgy steps persuaded us that maybe we’d give it a pass :D https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ca3df1fef.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5d7accd42.jpeg |
In the Uber on the way to the bridge Vorel had spotted a residential crescent similar to the famous crescent in bath and so our next adventure was to find it on the way back down. A little memory, a little luck, and we landed almost on top of it.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f86dc295c.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1d18850d0.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8bd99b2c7.jpeg After this we decided that no visit to Bristol would be complete without at least setting eyes on the SS Great Britain and so we headed to the waterfront. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6a1d30cf6.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3903cdec2.jpeg At this point it is worth mentioning that it’s been a beautiful day in Bristol but by now we had been wandering for quite some time. Neither of us had an overwhelming desire to visit the ship and so we continued along the waterfront in search of hydration. |
Brown and Byes was a few minutes stroll along the waterfront.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2612a5b3c.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0c87324ad.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8de111ccf.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b320a6938.jpeg I chose a Peroni and a flat white, Vorel went for an elderflower presse and a Prosecco royale. We initially planned to sit in the sun but in the end the shade was much more appealing. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...acf37fe20.jpeg |
At this point there was only one building we really wanted to return to, the museum of art, and a quick google showed that it was on the far side of Brandon hill so straight line over the top seemed obvious. Nope, stupid idea :D
On the way to the tower we passed by the rather impressive cathedral. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...f15f3a046.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9de0f3180.jpeg By the time we were three quarters of the way up I was puffing like a knackered cart horse and perspiring heavily. Beside me Vorel was skipping up the hill like a spring lamb! A small pause and sit down to let the heart rate settle, and off we went to the top. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dc582a903.jpeg walking around the crown of the hill we made our way to our last target, the museum https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e8d1af1d4.jpeg |
And this was the end of the great Bristol wander. We walked down to the waterside again and Vorel headed over the bridge towards Bristol Temple Mead and I backtracked to the moxy.
An hour in the Moxy revitalising and penning some of the previous updates and it was time to head to the airport. Before we head to the airport, here is a lot of random Bristol street art and other various bits and bobs captured along the way https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b92564453.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...48595e4b4.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dc1c21ff7.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6df4c9ef4.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8d51c3882.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4d21df34b.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...79bad7094.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ea677c5ec.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7c31dc08b.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dd3fdb61d.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0617e2860.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0116060c2.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...762a3a4a6.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...485241fd5.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...4ef4961bb.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...537828912.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...13ebd92d8.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d827fabd2.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3894b3488.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9035d0614.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...83222462f.jpeg |
I have just followed the link to this JapesUK , it’s a superb trip report , thank you ever so much . It was great to meet you .
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